Peril
by emmyrad
Summary: Third and final installment to The Power Trilogy. Vlad is angry. He's angry with Daniel, but even more so with the meddling goth Samantha. But now he has a plan to take them both down. For good. Rated for safety.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey, you! Yes, you! The super awesome person who clicked to read my story! This is the third and final installment in a trilogy of Danny Phantom fanfiction. If you haven't already, please go back and read the first two stories! Thank you!**

**-Emily**

Chapter 1

Sam focused, and Danny saw her eyes flash a yellow color as she made Danny's backpack levitate.

The two teens were in Danny's room, where Danny had suggested they train a little. Sam was still struggling to get a handle on what Tucker had dubbed her "ghostly telekinesis," and she was spending a lot of time practicing with her abilities as of late.

"Okay," Danny said. "Now try and flip it over."

Sam squinted as she focused. Sam could move things back and forth, but it was much harder for her to rotate them. The backpack twitched and trembled in the air before Sam's power gave out and it toppled onto the floor.

"This is hopeless, Danny," Sam said, sighing as she plopped down next to Danny on his bed. "I'm never going to get the hang of this."

"Yes, you will," Danny assured her, putting his arm around the Goth's shoulders. "I know you can do this."

The two of them sat like that for a while before Sam finally broke the contented silence.

"All right," she said, standing up and making the backpack levitate again. "Let's try it again."

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Outside of Danny's window, Vlad Plasmius watched the girl's sorry attempts at using her powers. Vlad was making sure to keep out of range of both the Fenton's Ghost Shield and Daniel's ghost sense, but even at such a large distance he could still see Samantha fail with her powers and hear her cursing in frustration.

_She powerful, but untrained, _Vlad thought. _Perhaps I should just destroy her now, get it over with. It would be easy._

But no. It would be so much more gratifying to destroy the two in the way he'd originally planned.

_I must be patient_, Vlad thought, flying away.

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It was the Friday before Casper High got out for Winter Break. The school's atmosphere was one of excitement and impatience. Lunch time was loud, the cafeteria buzzing with anticipation as people thought about the three weeks of freedom ahead of them.

"Three whole weeks off from school!" Tucker exclaimed between mouthfuls of his lunch. "I can't wait!"

"Chew, then talk," Sam said, feeling queasy as she watched the cafeteria's mystery meat bounce around in Tucker's mouth.

"Sorry," Tucker said, swallowing. "So, what are you two doing for break?"

"I'm just going to be relaxing," Sam said. "My parents are out of town for the next few weeks, so I really have nothing to do."

"What about you, Danny?" Tucker asked.

"Oh, you know… same old, same old," Danny said, shrugging. "Sleeping, eating, hanging out with my super-awesome girlfriend..."

"I sure hope you mean me," Sam said. Danny smiled as he leaned over and kissed her.

"Guys, I'm right here!" Tucker reminded his two friends, who broke apart blushing.

"Sorry, Tuck," Danny said. "So, what are you doing over break?"

Tucker brightened as he started talking about a new video game that was coming out over the weekend. Sam half-listened to Tucker, but couldn't concentrate fully.

Suddenly, a voice leaked into Sam's head. And it wasn't Danny's.

_Hello, Samantha_.

Sam gasped as Vlad Masters' voice rung out, clear as day.

"Did you hear that?" Sam whispered. Her two friends stopped their talking and turned to Sam, who had gone as pale as… well, a ghost.

"Hear what?" Danny asked. "Sam, are you okay?"

Sam shook her head, her eyes glued to the table in front of her.

"Vlad," Sam whispered. "He's _here_."

_But that's the beauty of it, Samantha. I'm__** not**__ here. And yet you can hear me! Now, how could that be?_

"He's talking to me," Sam said, fear coloring her words. "He must have planted some kind of chip in me when he kidnapped me. I can _hear_ him…"

Even thinking about Vlad was traumatic for Sam. He'd nearly killed her last time he'd seen her, almost electrocuting her to death with a machine of his. Even though Danny and Sam had escaped, and that evil machine had exploded along with Vlad's lab, Sam still feared the evil millionaire Halfa and dreaded the day when she'd have to meet him again.

Now his voice came to her, and it felt like he was right there beside her again, pressing that horrible button that sent her careening into a world of pain. But she wasn't in Vlad's lab right now. She was in the cafeteria, her two best friends in the world staring at her in worry and fear.

Even without looking over at him, Sam could tell Danny was angry with Vlad. In her peripheral, she could see him tense up at Vlad's name. His eyes flashed green as he clenched his hands into fists.

"That… fruitloop!" Danny cried. "I'm going to kill him!"

"Wait…" Sam whispered, holding up a finger. "I think he's going to talk again."

_You thought correctly, Samantha. I only wished to tell you that my offer still stands. You can be my apprentice… I could train you so much faster than Daniel ever could. Join me, Samantha…_

"Never," Sam hissed. Tucker and Danny looked scared now. Sam wondered whether they were scared of Vlad… or _her_.

"Sam, are you sure this isn't in your imagination?" Tucker said cautiously. "I mean, you've been really stressed lately, what with your powers and everything…"

_Yes, Samantha. Are you __**sure **__I'm here? Are you __**sure **__you haven't just gone insane?_

Sam stood up, grabbing her backpack, pressing her hand to her forehead which now felt burning hot. She wasn't crazy, right? Right?

"I... need some fresh air," Sam muttered before she fled from the cafeteria.

"Sam, wait!" Danny called, but suddenly his ghost sense went off, a thin blue wisp of air escaping his lips.

"Ghost?" Tucker said.

"Apparently," Danny replied, crawling under the table and going ghost. He turned invisible before flying out of the table. He kept himself intangible as he flew out of the school, flying into the blue skies above Casper High. Vlad Plasmius floated before Danny, smiling down as the teen flew up to meet him. Danny attacked immediately.

"Stay… away… from… my… girlfriend!" He cried, screaming a word with every punch he threw at Vlad. Vlad easily dodged the boys attacks, smiling smugly. Danny shot some Ghost Rays, which Vlad again avoided without breaking a sweat.

Vlad chuckled at the younger Halfa's attempts to destroy him.

"Your anger is distracting you from combat, Daniel," Vlad said, his lips curling into a scary smile. "Your emotions are your weakness."

"Shut _up_, Fruitloop!" Danny cried, finally nailing Vlad in the chest with a Ghost Ray. Vlad was shot backwards, but soon had recovered, brushing himself off.

"I do not wish to fight, Daniel," Vlad said, his tone taking on mock-sincerity. "I only wish to warn you that this isn't over."

"What?" Danny said, confused. "What isn't over?"

"I still want your Samantha as my own. As my apprentice, my daughter, my companion," Vlad said. Danny shivered at how creepy his words sounded. "If she won't come over willingly… well, I'll have to do some not-so-good things to get her to come."

"If you ever lay a hand on Sam, I swear…" Danny hissed.

"Me? Never!" Vlad said. "But if she doesn't agree to come with me… I just might have to."

Danny shot a dozen more ghost rays at Vlad, which he swerved out of the way of far too easily.

"Just a warning, Daniel," Vlad said, grinning menacingly. "You may want to keep a close eye on that girlfriend of yours for the next few hours. By the end of the day, she _will _be mine."

Danny watched Vlad fly away, shaking with fury and fear.

_By the end of the day, she _will _be mine…_

"Never," Danny said, flying back into his school to find Sam.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

At 2:30pm, Casper High's school bell rung, releasing students for Winter Break.

The entire Casper High student body was cheering as they left the campus. It was snowing that day in Amity Park, but nobody seemed to mind the wet and coldness that nipped them as they left the school. After all, it was Winter Break now! Three weeks of rest and relaxation, three weeks of no responsibilities, three weeks of _no school_! People high-fived, danced in the streets, sang Christmas Carols goofily out-of-tune.

The joy that seemed to blanket the school was lost on Danny and his friends, and not just because of Danny's usual hatred of Christmas. Vlad's words weighed down on Danny.

_By the end of the day, she _will _be mine_.

Danny shivered.

"Relax, Danny," Tucker said. "Vlad can't do anything to Sam as long as you're around to protect her!"

"Yeah, Danny," Sam said, her hand placed lovingly on her boyfriend's shoulder. "I'll be fine as long as you're with me."

"Right," Danny said, turning towards Sam. "Which is why you're coming home with me today. I need to keep a close eye on you."

Sam was slightly annoyed at the possessive tone in his voice.

"I can take care of myself, too, Danny," Sam reminded him, her tone a little harsher than she'd planned it to be. "Remember? Ghost Powers?"

"Right. I know. Sorry," Danny apologized, rubbing the back of his neck. "But if Vlad attacks you, or tries to take you away, I need to be there."

"I get it," Sam said, reaching out for Danny's hand. "I'll stick with you today."

Danny kissed his girlfriend. Beside them, Tucker coughed.

"As cute as this is," Tucker said. "I think I'm just going to head home. My new video game should be waiting for me."

"See ya, Tuck," Danny and Sam said, leaving Tuck behind as they set off for Danny's house.

"So, what are we even going to do this afternoon?" Sam said.

"Um, I don't know," Danny said honestly. "There probably will be a ghost attack or two you can help me with, but other than that, I'm pretty sure there's nothing else to do…"

"And that's where you're wrong," a voice said. Danny and Sam turned to see Jazz walking toward them, several schoolbooks in her arms. "According to Mom and Dad, we're all going out for dinner tonight."

"Guess you're coming to dinner with us, Sam," Danny said, turning to his girlfriend.

"All right," Sam said. "Where are we going?"

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"Jimbo's Pizza Parlor!" Jack cried. "I LOVE this place!"

Jimbo's Pizza Parlor made even the Nasty Burger look classy. Peanut shells covered the floor, so when you stepped through the restaurant they crunched beneath your feet. The little kids who weren't running through the place playing tag were in their parents' laps, crying in a chorus of despair, adding to the already loud atmosphere of the pizza place.

"I'm so sorry," Danny said, apologizing to his girlfriend for the nth time that night. "I know you hate this place."

"It's fine," Sam said. And it was. Sure, Sam didn't want to be here, but she'd rather be here than in Vlad's grasp. "Don't worry about it."

Suddenly, Danny's ghost sense went off.

"I'll be right back," Danny said, bolting out of his chair and toward the restaurant's exit. He ducked underneath an unoccupied table, went ghost, and flew out into the street, where he met…

"Vlad," Danny spat, glaring at the older Halfa. "Go away!"

Vlad chuckled.

"Again, Daniel, I'm not here to fight," Vlad said. "I'm simply here to collect the girl."

"You're delusional," Danny said. "I'm not letting you anywhere near Sam."

"Well, not in this body, no," Vlad said.

Danny barely had time to send Vlad a confused look before the older halfa had gone intangible and flown straight into Danny, overshadowing him.

Inside of Danny's body, Vlad chuckled. This was going to be fun…

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"You okay, Danny?" Sam asked, staring up at her boyfriend. Ever since he'd come back into the restaurant, he'd been strangely quiet.

"Yes, I'm fine, thank you," Danny said, turning to Sam. An out-of-character pompous smirk bent his lips, one that reminded Sam instantly of Vlad. "Actually, may I talk to you outside for a moment?"

"Um… sure," Sam said, standing up. She didn't notice Danny's eyes flash red.

They left the restaurant. It was still snowing outside, and Sam shivered at the cold, wet air. Sam and Danny leaned against the wall of the restaurant, Danny turning to face her, his smirk changing into a serious expression.

"What is it, Danny?" Sam asked, her teeth chattering in the cold.

"I'm breaking up with you," Danny said. No emotion in his voice.

To say Sam was caught off-guard would be an understatement. Her eyes widened to the size of golf-balls as she looked up at Danny. No hint of remorse in his eyes. He even looked a little smug.

"What? Why?" Sam asked. "I thought everything was great between us!"

"You thought wrong, Samantha," Danny said. "This past month has been miserable for me. Dating you was the worst mistake I ever made in my life. I'm Danny Phantom, for heaven's sake. It's not like I can't do better than some narcissistic freak of a Goth girl."

Sam's mouth popped open at Danny's words.

"Now Vlad is after you _yet again_, and I just can't be bothered to protect you anymore," Danny said, his tone distracted. "I have a whole city to watch over; I don't need some damsel-in-distress clinging to my sleeve everywhere I go, too."

Sam opened her mouth to speak, and then closed it again. Slowly, she started backing away from Danny… she needed to get away from him…

"What… what are you saying, Danny?" She asked, her voice breaking. She could feel warm tears starting in her eyes, her throat burning with the effort it took to hold herself together.

"It's merely the truth, Samantha," Danny said, shrugging. "Just the other day, I was talking with Tucker…"

"Tucker hates me too?" Sam squeaked. She hated how she was acting. So vulnerable… just like the damsel-in-distress Danny had accused her of being. Sam had always considered herself tough.

_Guess I was wrong_.

"You're really that oblivious?" Danny snorted. "Yes, Tucker hates you! Everybody hates you! The only reason anybody puts up with you is because you're rich!"

Tears were falling freely down Sam's cheeks now.

"You're…" Sam couldn't finish her insult. She had nothing to say to Danny. Turning on her heel, she ran as fast as she could away from him…

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Danny Fenton had never felt worse in his entire life.

Sure, Vlad was overshadowing him, and he had no control over what he was saying, but the words were still coming out of his mouth… words that were causing Sam more pain than he had ever seen her in.

As Vlad piled on the insults, Danny struggled to push the invading half-ghost out of his body, but it was hard. The elder halfa was skilled.

Danny could hear what Vlad was saying to Sam.

"This past month has been miserable for me… dating you was the worst mistake I ever made in my life… everybody hates you!"

_Lies, lies, all lies! _Danny was screaming. _Sam, don't listen to him!_

But Sam was already fleeing the scene.

Finally, Vlad left Danny's body. He was grinning manically, from ear to ear.

"Sam, wait!" Danny yelled, but she was long out of earshot. "Vlad… why did you do that? Do you really enjoy messing up my life _this much_?"

"Of course not, Daniel," Vlad said, his tone a mockery of true sincerity. "I hated to have to do this to you. But you wouldn't give Sam over to me willingly."

"How is this going to help you get Sam?" Danny spat.

"You'll see, Daniel," Vlad chuckled before disappearing. Danny did a 360˚ turn, still in his battle stance, looking for Vlad, but he was long gone.

"Sam," Danny said quietly, sitting down and letting his body shake with agonized sobs.

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Sam ran for a long time before finally she had to sit down. She was in the middle of the park when she stopped, and she collapsed onto a park bench, still sobbing. It was freezing outside, but there was no way she was going home in this state. Sure, her parents weren't home, but the various butlers and maids that lived in her mansion would definitely tell her parents if she came home like this. Her parents _already_ disliked Danny… how would they react if they knew what kinds of things he'd just said to her?

_Forget a restraining order, _Sam thought wryly. _They'd probably find some reason to send his whole family to jail!_

As much as Danny apparently hated her, she didn't hate him enough to sick her parents on him.

So she continued to sit in the park, having nowhere to go. She shivered violently in the cold, and she wrapped her arms around herself, still sobbing. People looked at her, but she didn't care. She was far too miserable to care about her reputation. Danny… it had all been a lie.

_I'm sorry, Samantha_, a cool voice said. Vlad.

"What are _you_ sorry about?" Sam hissed. The crazy girl talking to the voice in her head.

_What Daniel said back there was completely unacceptable. I would never have thought that he of all people would put you down like that._

"That makes two of us," Sam muttered. She'd put all of her trust, all of her faith in Danny. And he'd crushed it. He'd crushed her.

_Samantha, my offer still holds. I know you don't want to go back home right now, and apparently your two best friends hate you. Come stay with me._

As much as she hated it, Vlad's offer sounded pretty good to her. She really didn't have anywhere to go… and imagine how angry Danny would be if he heard she'd gone off to live with Vlad… she smiled at that last thought.

_You could stay with me for the three weeks you have off for Winter Break, and then you can decide whether you want to stay or not. No obligations. It would just be you and me, learning about your powers… together._

Sam hated to agree with Vlad. She really did. But… this deal seemed perfect. A place to stay, learning how to control her powers, no obligations…

"What do you think?" Vlad said, and it took a moment for Sam to realize that his voice was no longer inside of her head, but standing right in front of her. Sam jumped in surprise.

"V-Vlad!" Sam sputtered, looking up at the middle-aged millionaire with surprised wide-eyes.

"Samantha, do we have a deal?" Vlad said, holding his hand out to her.

Sam's mind was made up. She'd go with Vlad. Anything to get away from Danny, from Tucker, from all the lies that she'd been living here in Amity Park.

"Y-yeah," Sam said. "I think we do, actually."

They shook on it.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Finally, Danny was at home with his family. They'd left the Pizza Parlor shortly after Danny had come back inside without Sam, looking miserable. Danny thought about going to see Sam, but he knew she was the last person she wanted to hear from right now. He would explain what had happened tomorrow. Danny wondered if she'd even believe him.

_Of course she'll believe me_, Danny thought. _Why would I ever say those types of things to her? She knows how much I care about her…_

Danny felt sick to his stomach. He went to bed early that evening, and tossed and turned all night. He awoke the next morning, the first day of Winter Break, not that Danny really cared anymore, to a knocking at his bedroom door. He sat up in bed, feeling sleepier than he had when he'd gone to sleep the night before.

"Danny?" Jazz's voice called from outside the door. "Can I come in?"

"Sure," Danny said. Jazz opened the door, looking afraid and concerned. She bit her lip, standing awkwardly in the doorway.

"What's wrong, Jazz?" Danny asked.

"It's Sam," Jazz said. "She's with Vlad."

"_What?_ He kidnapped her?" Danny cried. "I can't believe that Fruitloop! I swear, if he so much as laid a hand on her…"

"He didn't kidnap her, Danny," Jazz said. "She went willingly."

Danny's eyes widened as he realized what had happened. Vlad made Danny break up with Sam… who then felt alienated and depressed… so she then turned to Vlad for comfort. It made sense, in kind of a cruel way.

"I'm so stupid!" Danny cried. "I should have followed Sam home last night… I should have at least tried to explain…_ I'm_ _so stupid!_"

Danny stood up, throwing the blankets off his lap, quickly going ghost and turning into Phantom.

"Where are you going?" Jazz said.

"Vlad's place," Danny said. "I need to get Sam out of there."

With that, he flew out of his home, heading toward Vlad's place.

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Sam woke up in an unfamiliar room. She sat up, looked around, tried to remember what had happened the night before…

_Oh yeah. Danny broke up with me, told me he hated me, and now I'm in Vlad's mansion._

Sam was relieved and saddened at the same time. She was relieved that she now at least remembered what had happened the evening before and could make sense of her surroundings, but sad that it wasn't all just some terrible dream.

"What did I do to deserve this?" Sam moaned, rolling over in her bed and burying her face in a pillow to scream.

After spending a few minutes wallowing in teenage angst, Sam finally decided to stop feeling sorry for herself and got up. She walked over to the closet, and throwing it open she saw all of her own clothes from back home there.

_Vlad must have brought my stuff here,_ Sam thought. The idea that he'd been in her home was beyond creepy. Sam felt a little sick to her stomach.

_Why did I come here again? _Sam wondered.

Well, she'd rather be here than in Amity Park. She'd rather be here than back home where she'd have to explain to everybody why she wasn't hanging out with Tucker and Danny anymore…

At least she didn't have to explain anything to Vlad.

Sam had already pulled on her usual outfit before she looked over and noticed a note sitting on the dresser.

_Samantha-_

_Meet me downstairs for breakfast once you're awake._

_-Vlad._

Samantha wondered how she was going to find her way downstairs. Vlad's mansion was _huge_. Her house was enormous, yes, but it really was nothing compared to Vlad's home. She'd tried to pay attention when Vlad was leading her through a maze of hallways to her room last night, but she'd been so sleepy at the time she doubted any of it had sunk in.

Sam decided to wing it, leaving her room and turning right on a whim. At the next intersection of corridors, she decided to turn left, and then she took a right the next time. After at least a half-hour of wandering around at random, Sam finally found herself downstairs. She pushed open a door to her right and found herself in the kitchen, where Vlad was cooking eggs.

"Samantha," Vlad greeted. It sounded like he was making an extra effort to be polite. "What do you want for breakfast? I have eggs, cereal…"

"Call me Sam," Sam said curtly. "And I'll just have toast."

"You're going to need more than toast, Samantha," Vlad said. "We're starting training today."

Sam stepped forward towards the toaster, cutting a slice of bread off of a loaf Vlad had sitting out and pushing it into the toaster.

"I'm Ultra-Recyclo-Vegetarian, Vlad," Sam reminded the Older Halfa. "That means I don't eat eggs or milk or _anything_ that comes from animals. So toast will be _fine_."

Vlad coughed timidly at Sam's forceful tone. Sam considered it a triumph that she could make Vlad nervous.

The toast popped up, and Sam grabbed it, biting into it absent-mindedly.

"So, what do you mean by training?" Sam wondered.

"Well, you need to start using your powers more often if you ever plan on gaining control of them," Vlad said. "I figured we should start getting acquainted with them as soon as possible. You're really quite powerful, Samantha… imagine all the things you could do with these abilities of yours!"

"It's Sam," Sam corrected. "And by 'things' I'm hoping you don't mean evil things. Because even though I agreed to come live with you for the next few weeks, that doesn't mean I've crossed over to the dark side or anything."

"Good and evil are just words, Samantha," Vlad said, scooping up his fried eggs onto a plate. "Their meanings vary depending on your perspective. And I'm not going to make you do anything you don't want to do, Samantha. We're merely harboring your abilities. What you choose to do with them is entirely your own decision."

"Most would consider electrocuting a defenseless teenage girl nearly to death 'evil,'" Sam pointed out.

"Touché," Vlad said. "Though I'd hardly call you defenseless."

Sam decided to spill out the question that had been on her mind since Vlad had come to her the evening before.

"Why are you helping me?" Sam wondered. "I mean, what's in this deal for you?"

"There are many reasons that I want to help you, Samantha," Vlad said. "First of all, I really do feel badly about almost killing you, and I wanted to make it up to you. Secondly, your powers fascinate me, and I would love to be able to study them in detail while helping you gain control of them. Furthermore, after seeing the way your friends were just using you for your money…"

"You knew?" Sam gasped.

""I'm afraid so, Samantha," Vlad said, shaking his head sympathetically. "I told Daniel not to toy with you like that, but he just insisted on it."

Sam's eyes filled with unruly tears again, and quickly she wiped them away. She didn't want Vlad to see her cry.

"It's all right, Samantha," Vlad said. "I understand."

"How can you understand?" Sam exclaimed angrily. "Everything I thought I knew for sure was a complete _lie_! The two people I thought were my best friends in the world turn out to want nothing to do with me! Everything's going to be different for me once I get back to Amity Park. How could you understand what I'm feeling right now?"

Vlad sighed, setting down his food.

"I believe I do, though, Samantha," Vlad said, stepping forward towards Sam. "After my accident in college, the two people I thought were my best friends in the world— Jack and Maddie— completely turned their backs on me. My ecto-acne made me a social outcast, a leper of a man. Jack and Maddie didn't want to be seen with me.

"I thought they were my best friends… turns out that a little case of ecto-acne was enough to make them forget I ever existed. And, sure, now that I'm a billionaire Jack _absolutely_ wants to be my friend again- now I'm 'V-Man,' I'm his 'best buddy.' 'Best buddies' don't leave you to suffer for years in a stuffy hospital while they're out having the times of their lives, getting married and having children! I didn't even get an invite to his wedding! I didn't even know that the two of them were together! Imagine my surprise when I get out of the hospital to find they have they'd gotten hitched and had a baby girl together!"

Sam just blinked, staring up at the aging Halfa. She was completely taken aback by Vlad's speech. She'd never thought she'd ever feel so sorry for Vlad Masters in her life. Now she felt really bad for him.

"I'm sorry, Vlad," she said quietly.

Suddenly, the faint sound of screaming made both Vlad and Sam look up. It was coming from outside.

"Oh, dear," Vlad said. "That must be Daniel. I hope you understand, Samantha… I had to put up a Ghost Shield around my house. I didn't want Daniel to be able to get in here and take you away. And besides, I figured you probably didn't want to see him."

The screaming was getting louder, and Sam realized that yes, that definitely was Danny.

Sam cringed at the sound of Danny getting electrocuted. She chided herself for this reaction.

_Danny deserves this_, Sam thought. _Why should I feel sorry for him?_

They listened to Danny's screaming. It sounded like he kept trying to ram the Ghost Shield down, unsuccessfully. His agonized screams soon became broken sobs.

"I probably should go out and take care of this," Vlad sighed, turning into his Plasmius.

"But wait… why doesn't the shield electrocute you?" Sam asked. "And why can't Danny just get in here in his human form?"

"This is a unique Ghost Shield," Vlad explained. "I designed it to recognize both Danny's DNA, so that the boy can't get in while in human form, and my ecto-signature, so the shield won't zap me while I'm Plasmius."

"Oh," Sam said. Vlad turned intangible and shot through the roof, leaving Sam with the rest of her toast.

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Tears were in Danny's eyes as he tried to ram through Vlad's Ghost Shield. He shot into it as hard as he could, each time getting zapped.

_Once… twice… three times… four times…_

_ Now I know how Sam felt when Vlad electrocuted her._

Sam. Her name only fueled his determination to get into Vlad's house and take her home. His screams were sobs now, and he threw himself at the Ghost Shield once more, crying out as he was shocked again. He floated backwards, panting.

Suddenly, Plasmius flew up out of his house, up to Danny. Vlad stayed behind the Ghost Shield, though. Inches from Danny's face, but impossible for Danny to reach.

"Let Sam go!" Danny cried, punching the Ghost Shield only to get shocked again.

"I'm afraid I can't do that, Daniel," Vlad said. "The girl wants to be here."

"Only because she thinks I hate her!" Danny cried, glaring at Vlad through the Ghost Shield.

"Well, it's not like you can tell her otherwise," Vlad said. "There's no way you can get past this ghost shield. Oh, and this shield also disables your psychic connection with her, so don't even try."

Danny tried to hide the fact that he hadn't even considered using his psychic connection with Sam. Internally, he face-palmed.

"You thought of everything, didn't you?" Danny asked, sighing. Resigning himself to the fact that he might not be able to get to Sam. That he might not see the girl he loved ever again.

"Yes. Yes I did," Vlad said. "Goodbye, Daniel."

With that, Vlad dropped back into him home and Danny flew back to his. He would find some way to save Sam. But today wasn't the day.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Vlad dropped back into his kitchen, changing back into his human half as soon as his feet hit solid ground. The girl, Samantha, was digging through his fridge.

"I'm back," Vlad said.

"Yeah, hi, Vlad," Sam said, distracted. A second later, she groaned, pulling her head out of Vlad's fridge. "Do you have anything to drink that isn't alcohol?"

"Tap water," Vlad offered.

"Forget it," Sam said, slamming the fridge shut.

_Spoiled brat_, Vlad thought. _I'll be glad to dispose of her once she's completed her task._

Samantha hoisted herself up onto one of Vlad's kitchen counters. She began to drum her fingers against cool marble and hum loudly after a few minutes of sitting there in silence. Vlad could tell the girl was trying very hard not to think about Daniel. No doubt she just wanted to forget about the boy entirely.

Vlad almost smiled at how easily Samantha had fallen for his ruse. But why wouldn't she? She was only a teenager. He was not only years wiser than her, but also a diabolical super villain and expert liar.

Vlad was confident his plan would work. The other ghosts doubted him, but he knew that this would be the easiest way to take down Daniel.

Everything was going exactly as intended. The girl had bought his lies. She really believed young Daniel hated her… that he'd never cared for her. Soon the girl's sadness would be replaced with anger, and her need for comfort would be replaced with a need for revenge…

It would only take so much as a push from Vlad to get her to destroy the boy for him.

_Daniel is done for_, Vlad thought, again having to hide the smile that tugged on the corners of his lips.

"So, Vlad," Sam said, snapping Vlad out of his thoughts. "What do you have planned for us today?"

"Well, I was thinking first we should head down to the lab, do a few tests…" Vlad began.

"All right," Sam said, hopping off of the countertop. "Let's go."

Vlad was a bit taken aback by her eagerness, but quickly recovered himself.

"Very well," Vlad said, taking the girl by the arm before changing into Plasmius and flying both of them to his lab.

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"I thought you already had my DNA," Sam said nervously as she sat in an office chair in the middle of Vlad's lab. Vlad stood over her, needle drawn. "You know, from that time when you kidnapped me."

"Well, yes, I did. But as you remember, that lab, along with all the samples and data I had collected, were destroyed in the explosion you caused," Vlad said bitterly as he poked the needle into Sam's arm. Sam cringed as he drew blood. Sam may have been a Goth who reveled in all things dark, but the sight of blood made her woozy…

"Try not to faint," Vlad said, noticing the girl paling.

"Easier said than done," Sam muttered.

Vlad finished drawing the blood and took the needle away. He brought back a Band-aid, which he placed gingerly on the part of Sam's arm where he had extracted blood.

"There," Vlad said. "Feel better?"

Sam rolled her eyes at Vlad's patronizing tone, but nodded. Vlad stepped over to his computer, drawing up an image of a sample of her DNA. He typed in a few things and it zoomed in.

"Goodness, you truly are something else, Samantha," Vlad said, still typing frantically on his keyboard.

"It's Sam," Sam reminded him again. "And what do you mean by that?"

"You can tell so much about a person just from their DNA," Vlad muttered, not really answering her question. "Tell me, Samantha, are your powers linked to your emotions?"

"Well, yeah," Sam said. "Like, when I took down the roof at that assembly, it was because I was really mad at you. I've managed to get my powers to function when I'm not emotionally worked up about something, but it's harder to use them, and they aren't as strong."

Vlad nodded absentmindedly, still studying the DNA on the computer screen. He pressed a few buttons, and the screen shut off.

"Come with me, Samantha," Vlad said.

"Where are we going?" Sam asked, eyes narrowing suspiciously.

"To my training room," Vlad said, walking over to Sam and taking her arm before going ghost and flying her across his home. Sam closed her eyes, still feeling sick from having her blood drawn. Being flown through walls at high speeds wasn't helping her feel any better…

Finally, they landed in a large empty white room, roughly the size of a football court.

"Stay here," Vlad instructed, going intangible and flying out of the room. Sam sighed, wondering how long she'd have to stay here alone. She didn't like being alone anymore. When she was alone there was nothing to distract her from her thoughts. Thoughts that always turned back to Danny.

Anger seeped through her as she thought of her ex-boyfriend. She hated him. She hated what he'd done to her. She hated that she could still care about him, even after what he'd done to her.

Suddenly, Vlad's voice filled the large room. Sam looked around, trying to find where the voice was coming from.

"Okay, Samantha," Vlad said. "We're just going to be doing some basic fighting today. Let me configure the room…"

The empty white room went completely dark for a moment, leaving Sam in total blackness. Out of nowhere, a green loading bar appeared on the wall in front of her. The bar filled quickly.

Suddenly, Sam was standing on a sidewalk in the middle of Amity Park. She walked across the street, reaching out to touch the nearest building. Its cool, bumpy surface felt so real…

"Everything you're seeing right now is an illusion created by the room," Vlad's voice boomed. "State-of-the-art technology."

Sam turned away from the building she'd just touched, her eyes darting across the cityscape around her. The sky above was so blue, so real… she could feel the wind brushing over her skin, the sun beating down on her from above… she never would have guessed it wasn't real.

"All right, Samantha," Vlad said. "Here comes your enemy."

Sam looked around anxiously, expecting the Box Ghost or Skulker to appear in front of her. She never would've guessed that Vlad would choose a rendering of Danny Phantom for her to fight.

But there he was, clad in his black and white jumpsuit, hovering a few feet off the ground, smiling irritatingly at her. Sam stepped over to the boy cautiously, tempted to reach out and touch him, just to see if he felt as real as the building…

"Surprised to see me?" the Danny Phantom said, smirking. The anger towards him that Sam had felt a few minutes ago returned, stronger than ever. Seeing him here… looking so happy, so smug… even if he was just a hologram or whatever… made her so angry.

Sam could feel a familiar throbbing icy feeling spreading through her body. She knew that this feeling was connected with her powers.

Sam raised her hand, and with a flick of her fingers she sent Danny flying backwards into the ground. He crashed into the street, cracking the cement where he'd fallen. He recovered after only a moment's hesitation.

"I was using you, Sam," the fake Danny said, grinning wickedly.

"Shut up!" Sam roared, sending Danny flying into the building to her right. She whipped him back to the left, sending him into another building. She did that for a few minutes, sending him back and forth, crashing into one building or the other, his body as limp as a rag doll. The fake Danny tried to fight back, sending a Ghost Ray her way once or twice, but in her anger she was far stronger than him.

Eventually, Danny lay on the ground in front of her, unconscious. There was a flash of light as Phantom gave way to Fenton.

Cautiously, Sam approached the boy. His body was mangled, his limbs jutting out in odd, unnatural directions. His face was bloody.

Sam was horrified. Not by the gruesome sight in front of her, but by what she'd just done. She'd just killed Danny. Or a rendering of him anyway.

So why did she feel so… happy?

Suddenly, Danny was gone, Amity Park was gone, the room pure and white once more. Plasmius flew in, applauding.

"Splendid, Samantha, just splendid! You really are _very _powerful!"

Sam nodded numbly, still staring at the spot on the ground where the fake Danny had been lying a few seconds ago.

"Cheer up, girl," Vlad said. "I thought fighting Phantom might be good for you… therapeutic, even."

Sam thought about this. She did feel a little less miserable. For the first time since Danny had broken up with her, she felt… content.

"Shall we try it again with a stronger Danny?" Vlad asked, smiling.

"Yeah," Sam said. "Okay."

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Vlad watched as Samantha fought the level nine rendering of Daniel.

Once again, she was easily defeating the faux-Daniel, her eyes squinted in concentration as she fought. She'd defeated eight Daniels already, and though Vlad set them to be harder to defeat each time, Samantha still defeated all of them with ease.

_The real Daniel should be no problem for her._

Samantha took down this Daniel, panting. Vlad reset the room, turning it white and empty again, before flying in to meet Samantha.

"We should probably stop for today. I don't want you to strain yourself," Vlad said as he approached her. "You've done very well, Samantha."

"It's Sam," the girl said. "And… thanks."

"Not a problem," Vlad said. "I think you're well on your way to the mastery of your powers, Samantha. Let's go have some lunch and then we can talk more."

Samantha nodded, holding her arm out so Vlad could fly her out of the room.

_She already trusts me completely, _Vlad mused. _Three weeks will be more than enough time to complete my plan. And then, once she's played her part in my plot, I can kill her. Soon both she and Daniel Fenton will be dead._


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: **Two Weeks Later**

_Danny hovered high above Amity Park, watching the city below him buzz. Danny couldn't feel his body; he didn't have a body, actually. But that didn't worry him. He felt contented. Free. He let the breezes carry him, looking for a familiar face below._

_Soon, he noticed his family out in the streets of Amity Park, crowded over something. Jazz was holding her mother's hand. Jack had his arm draped around both his wife and his daughter. Danny floated downward to see what they were all looking at. Only when he got close could he hear his family's sobs._

_ "What's wrong?" Danny tried to say, but he had no mouth, he had no voice. His words were inaudible, lost in the wind._

_ Danny pushed past his family, desperate to know why they were so sad. He wanted to make it better, to fix whatever was wrong._

_But then, he saw what they were huddled over, and he knew it wasn't something he could fix._

_His own body lay before him, bloody and lifeless. His raven black hair was stiff with dried blood, and his blue eyes were still wide open. Jazz ducked down to use two of her fingers to close them._

"_I'm sorry, little brother," she said, her voice choked with tears. "I'm sorry we couldn't save you."_

_Dead? How could he be dead? He was right here! He was floating right next to them!_

_Danny turned away from his body, away from his family. He couldn't bear watching them cry over him anymore._

_In the distance, he saw a figure. Sam._

"_Sam!" Danny cried, but again his words were silent. He drifted over to Sam, and as he grew closer, he could see the blood on her. His blood, his ectoplasm. It covered her hands, her face. Red and green splotches all over her. Blood, ectoplasm. Like Christmas._

"_I… killed him," she said, her voice quiet._

"_You did well," Vlad Plasmius said, flying up behind her. Sam didn't turn._

"_Kill me," Sam said, her voice barely a whisper. "I killed him for you. Now kill me."_

"_Very well," Vlad said, and then a dagger was through Sam's chest, and Sam's eyes were flickering shut as she collapsed to the ground. Blood leaked from her open chest onto the cold asphalt…_

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Danny awoke, screaming at the top of his lungs. Lights flickered on around his household. His mother and father were the first to burst into his room, their ecto-weapons at the ready. Jazz followed shortly afterwards.

Danny was sweating, panting, and his heart was pounding in his chest like never before. Danny's eyes darted over to his clock. It was 4am. His family looked at him expectantly.

"Nightmare," he said between pants. Jack and Maddie nodded, leaving the room, a little disappointed that there wasn't a ghost. Jazz stayed behind, coming over to sit at the end of Danny's bed.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Jazz said.

Danny shook his head no, still gasping for breath as though he'd been running. Danny clutched his pounding heart as he sat up in bed.

"It's just Sam," Danny said. "She's been with Vlad for two weeks already. Who knows what he's done to her? What if she's… what if she's changed? What if she's like Vlad now?"

"Sam will be fine," Jazz said, putting her hand on Danny's shoulder. "And there's not much you can do about it right now. Sam will come around, and then you can explain to her that Vlad was overshadowing you. She's just not ready to hear it yet."

Danny nodded, pressing his hand to his forehead.

"That was horrible," Danny said softly, referring to his nightmare. It was like nothing he'd ever experienced… it was as vivid and clear as day. His family's sobs still echoed in his head.

"I'm sorry, little brother," Jazz said. It was the exact same thing she'd said in his nightmare when standing over his body. Danny trembled, swallowing down the misery and fear that was threatening to consume him.

"Jazz… can you stay in here with me until I fall asleep again?" Danny said, feeling like a child. "I mean, if you want to…"

"Of course," she said.

Danny lay back in his bed, trying to forget the horrible nightmare…

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_Sam watched as Danny's family gathered over his dead body. She'd killed him. She'd killed Danny._

_Danny was innocent. A part of Sam knew this. She knew he would never say those types of things to her, she knew that he loved her still. But she hadn't believed the part of her that still loved Danny. She'd listened to Vlad. Vlad had told her that Danny hated her. Vlad had told her that Danny had used her, that Danny was a terrible person._

_So she'd killed Danny. His blood and ectoplasm dripped off of her, red and green, like Christmas._

"_I… killed him," Sam said, shaking with fear and guilt. _

_She heard Vlad fly up behind her, his cold ghostly breath on her neck._

"_You did well," Vlad said._

_Danny hadn't been using her. Vlad had been using her. And she'd been too stupid to realize it._

_This was all her fault._

"_Kill me," Sam said. "I killed him for you. Now kill me."_

"_Very well," Vlad said. She didn't even have a chance to brace herself before cold metal was through her chest, pain consuming her. Sam gasped at the sudden pain before she collapsed, falling into darkness._

_Darkness, beautiful darkness, emotionless darkness, unsympathetic darkness. _

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Sam was jolted upright as she awoke from the nightmare, gasping for breath and clutching her pounding heart.

_Just a dream, just a dream, just a dream…_ Sam chanted in her head, trying to calm her trembling body and her panicked thoughts.

Sam sat there for a few minutes like that. Very slowly, her terror ebbed, giving way to… hunger.

Sam glanced over at the clock. It was already 9:00am. No wonder she was hungry.

_Might as well go down for breakfast,_ Sam thought. She knew Vlad would be up already; if there was one things she'd learned about him after two weeks of staying with him, it was that he woke up at 7:00am sharp every morning.

Sam got up and pulled on her clothes before heading downstairs to the kitchen. The route downstairs was easy for Sam now; she couldn't imagine getting lost in Vlad's mansion anymore. She knew the place by heart.

_Two weeks_, Sam thought. _Two weeks I've been here. It's seemed like two years._

She arrived in the kitchen to find Vlad standing, reading the paper.

"Samantha," he greeted. Sam cringed. Why wouldn't he call her Sam?

"It's Sam," Sam said for the millionth time, wandering over to the toaster and popping two slices of bread into the toaster. Just like every morning.

"How did you sleep?" Vlad asked.

"Not well, actually," Sam said honestly. "I had this horrible nightmare."

"Oh?" Vlad said. "What about?"

Sam hesitated. On one hand, she really did want to talk to somebody about the nightmare, but on the other hand, she had a gut feeling she shouldn't tell Vlad.

"Um, I'll tell you later," Sam said, dodging the question. "What are we doing today?"

Sam knew the answer to this question. They were doing what they always did; tested and trained. Sam was sure of this, expecting this.

But Vlad surprised her.

"I was actually thinking we'd take a break from your training today," Vlad said. "After all, you've already beaten a level 20 Danny. I haven't programmed in any harder levels."

"But don't you use this same training software, too?" Sam asked, confused. "Why haven't you programmed in something harder than a level 20 Danny?"

"Yes, Samantha, I used this training software too," Vlad said. "But I didn't think it was necessary to program any more levels in after 20, since the real life Danny is only about level 16."

"Danny's only level 16?" Sam asked, surprised. "So… I could kill Danny?"

"Yes, Samantha, you could easily kill Daniel if you wanted to," Vlad said. "But surely you wouldn't want to. Would you?"

Sam shivered at the thought. This was so like the nightmare she just had…

Realization dawned on Sam.

_That's why he's taken me in. That's why he's being so nice to me. I'm just a weapon to him._

"You want me to kill Danny for you, don't you?" Sam asked Vlad, her voice a monotone, her eyes drifting up to meet the elder halfa's.

"Well, that would certainly make life easier for me," Vlad said, laughing, but only half-joking.

_Vlad. I've always hated Vlad. Why did I agree to this? Why am I here? I've got to get out._

"Sure, I'll kill him for you," Sam said, too casually. "What about we do it on Christmas Eve?"

Vlad seemed a bit taken aback by her willingness, but quickly recovered, grinning broadly.

"Christmas Eve sounds splendid," Vlad said, as though he were planning a dinner party and not somebody's murder.

Sam nodded, taking her toast out of the toaster as it popped up.

"I'm going to go eat this in my room," Sam said, holding up her toast. "But we can talk more about this later, okay?"

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Sam had finished her toast, and sitting on her bed, she tried to put the pieces to this puzzle together.

_When did this all begin?_ Sam wondered. _Was it when Danny broke up with me?_

No, it was before that. At school that day, when Vlad started talking to her inside her head… he was asking her to join him…

_How could I be so stupid? I've fallen right into his plot!_

Cursing aloud, Sam thought harder about that day. She recalled Danny's words to her when he broke up with her.

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"_I thought everything was great between us!" Sam said._

_ "You thought wrong, Samantha," Danny said. "This past month has been miserable for me. Dating you was the worst mistake I ever made in my life. I'm Danny Phantom, for heaven's sake. It's not like I can't do better than some narcissistic freak of a Goth girl._

_ "Now Vlad is after you yet again, and I just can't be bothered to protect you anymore," Danny said, his tone distracted. "I have a whole city to watch over; I don't need some idiotic damsel-in-distress clinging to my sleeve everywhere I go, too."_

_ Sam opened her mouth to speak, and then closed it again. Slowly, she started backing away from Danny… she needed to get away from him…_

_ "What… what are you saying, Danny?" She asked, her voice breaking. She could feel warm tears starting in her eyes, her throat burning with the effort it took to hold herself together._

"_It's merely the truth, Samantha," Danny said. _

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Wait. Had Danny called her Samantha? Danny never did that.

Either he was really just trying to piss her off, or…

_Was that Vlad overshadowing him?_

It made sense. Danny went out to fight a ghost, and then when he came back in, he was acting funny. And then he'd broken up with her, and Vlad had come and taken her.

Sam cursed under her breath. She knew it! She knew Danny wouldn't do that to her! God, she was such an idiot!

She needed to talk to Danny. The Ghost Shield blocked her psychic connection with him, she knew… she just needed to get outside of the shield.

She raced downstairs to where Vlad was sitting in the living room.

"Um, Vlad, can I get some fresh air?" Sam asked. "I haven't been outside since I got here, you know… can I just take a walk down the street? You can come with, if you'd like."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Vlad agreed to a walk down the street, completely unsuspicious. They grabbed their coats, heading out into the snow.

"Let's just go down the block, okay?" Sam said to Vlad, who nodded, smiling down at her. If he knew what she was planning, he wouldn't be nearly as agreeable…

Sam could tell when they passed through Vlad's ghost shield; she could feel it as they left the artificial warmth that was contained inside the ghost shield to face the harsh cold of the outside.

But that's exactly what Sam wanted. She tapped into her psychic connection, trying to send a thought to Danny.

_Danny? Danny, can you hear me? It's Sam._

Sam could only cross her fingers, praying that Danny had received her thought. She _was_ awfully far away… what if her message didn't reach him?

They walked down the street. Vlad's neighborhood was a wealthy one; the houses were all huge and spread very far apart. They stomped through the snow which had been piled off on the side of the road.

Once they were halfway down the street, Sam started to worry. What if he didn't get her message? Or worse— what if he was ignoring her?

Suddenly, Danny's voice came to her.

_Sam! Are you all right? How did you get out of Vlad's place? What's going on?_

Sam rolled her eyes at Danny's onslaught of questions.

_First of all, I'm fine, but I'm still with Vlad. I convinced him to talk a walk with me down the street. He doesn't know that I'm talking to you. So I've got to make this quick._

A minute or two later, his voice reached her again.

_Sam, what I said that night… well, _I_ didn't even say it. It was Vlad overshadowing me. I love you, Sam. I'd never say anything like that to you… ever. Tucker doesn't hate you. Obviously I don't hate you. And I don't want us to be broken up. Can you forgive me?_

Sam smiled. She'd known that it wasn't Danny that night! She only wished she'd figured it out sooner…

Sam shook her head, trying to concentrate on what needed to be said. She and Vlad were already at the end of the block, coming to a dead-end. They turned around, heading back toward Vlad's mansion. Sam needed to hurry this conversation up. Quickly, she sent thoughts back to Danny.

_I kind of figured that out. But it's nice to hear it from you anyway. I'm glad you guys don't hate me. And I love you too. And I don't want us to be broken up either. _

_I missed you so much, Sam._

Danny had missed her. Sam smiled.

_I missed you too, Danny. But we need to make this little reunion quick since Vlad is with me and he'll get suspicious if I make him stay out here for too long, _Sam thought._ Danny, I have a plan to take down Vlad once and for all. Here's what's going to happen… _

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All too soon, it was Christmas Eve. Danny's parents prepped for Christmas: cooking, cleaning, and decorating.

All of the Fentons were cheery; Danny was the lone exception.

He put on a smile for his family, singing along when Christmas carols came on the radio, laughing at every stupid Christmas joke his father told, but inside he was panicking. This was the day that Sam and Danny had to put their plan into action.

_What if it doesn't work? What if I end up dead, like in my dream?_

Sam had assured Danny that she'd never do anything to hurt him, not in a million years. And Danny believed her. Why shouldn't he? Still, he couldn't smother the anxiety that was building inside of him.

Danny watched the clock strike 6:00pm. That was his cue.

"I'm going to go take a walk," Danny announced.

"Have fun, sweetie!" His mother called. "And be back soon! Dinner's almost ready!"

Danny nodded, throwing on a coat and rushing outside into the cold air. As soon as the door shut he was sprinting down the block to the park where they'd arranged to meet…

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"Are you ready, Samantha?" Vlad asked as he flew her across Amity Park.

Sam nodded, gripping Vlad's arm a little harder than necessary. Sam was nervous.

_Danny, we're almost there, _Sam thought to Danny.

_Okay, Sam. I'm in the park, _Danny responded.

"Where is young Daniel today, anyway?" Vlad asked, scanning the ground for any sign of the boy.

"What about you try the park?" Sam offered. "He likes to go there often."

Vlad gave her a skeptical look. Why would Daniel be in the park on Christmas Eve, anyway? Wouldn't he be with his family?

"Just trust me," Sam said, then pointed to their right. "The park is over in that direction."

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Danny sat on the park bench, twiddling his fingers, trying to busy himself with something other than thinking about his impending battle.

_It'll be fine,_ he tried to convince himself, unsuccessfully.

Danny tried to take a deep breath, but it was cut short by his ghost sense going off. Danny looked around, making sure there was nobody in sight. There wasn't. Why would there be? It was Christmas Eve.

"I'm going ghost!" Danny said, changing into his ghostly alter-ego. He kicked off from the ground, flying up to meet Vlad and Sam. They were approaching in the distance, mere dots on the skyline for now. Danny waited patiently, watching their figures growing closer…

_This is it._

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"Plasmius. Sam," Danny greeted them cordially as they flew towards him.

Sam had to stop herself from lunging forward and kissing Danny, she was so happy to see him. She'd missed him so much more than she'd realized… he wasn't just her boyfriend, but her best friend, and she couldn't remember the last time she'd been apart from him for so long.

"Daniel," Vlad said. "What a surprise."

_Not really_, Danny thought to Sam, and Sam had to keep from giggling.

"What do you want, Plasmius?" Danny asked.

"A fight," Vlad said. "Between you and young Samantha here. I've been training her for the past few weeks, and I can easily say her abilities far surpass yours."

_Really? You're that strong? _Danny thought to Samantha.

_Focus, Danny! _Sam thought to Danny, who couldn't hide a small grin. He quickly got back into character, though.

"You have to be kidding me, Vlad! I would never hurt Sam!" Danny said, and Sam nearly face-palmed. He was such a terrible actor.

"You already have, Danny!" Sam shouted, trying to sound angry. "You used me!"

_Sorry, Danny, just trying to make it believable, _Sam thought to Danny.

_S'okay, _Danny responded.

"That wasn't me, Sam!" Danny cried. "That was Vlad!"

Vlad had flown off to the side, away from the battle, allowing Sam to float on her own. She wasn't great at flying yet, but she could hover pretty well. Cautiously, Sam flew toward Danny. She lightly tossed the Halfa backward with her powers; not enough to hurt him, but enough to make it look like she was actually angry with him. Danny was thrown back a few feet before he recovered.

"Yeah, right!" Sam said, flinching at how incredibly staged this whole argument sounded. She hoped Vlad bought it. "I trust Vlad! He would never say anything like that to me!"

"How could you trust Vlad?" Danny cried. "He's my arch-nemesis!"

"Yeah, well, the enemy of my enemy is my friend," Sam said, throwing Danny sideways a few feet.

_Come on, Danny, at least _look _like you're fighting back! _Sam thought to Danny.

Danny sent a few green blasts toward her, each of them missing her by an inch or two on either side.

"Nice aim!" Sam taunted, sneaking a glance over at Vlad.

_Okay, I think Vlad's let his guard down, _Sam thought to Danny. _Let's get him._

Danny nodded.

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After his and Sam's horribly staged "fight," it was finally time for the two of them to get Vlad.

Danny kept his eyes locked with Sam's, charging up as strong an ecto-blast as he could muster. He focused all his energy into building up the glowing energy that was growing in the palm of his right hand. He brought his arm back, presumably the throw the ecto-blast toward Sam…

But at the last minute, he turned, firing the ball of energy at Vlad.

Vlad, taken off guard, was hit in the chest. He cried out in shock as he flew backwards hundreds of feet. Finally, the older halfa hit the ground with an agonized scream.

Danny and Sam quickly landed, running to meet the injured Vlad.

Vlad Plasmius lay on the ground, limp and whimpering, pathetically vulnerable.

_It's amazing how much damage just one well-aimed ecto-blast can do to a person, _Danny mused. He wouldn't be surprised if Vlad had multiple broken bones. He almost felt guilty, but smothered the emotion. This man had taken his Sam, made her miserable. He was _not _going to feel sorry for him.

Danny pulled out the Fenton Thermos, aiming it at Vlad, whose eyes turned to Sam. Sam stood there, smiling down at him smugly, arms crossed.

"Samantha, stop him!" Vlad cried.

"Sorry, Vladdie," Sam said, smirking down at the evil halfa. "I'm back with Team Phantom now."

"H-how?" Vlad stammered, wide-eyed.

Sam didn't have a chance to respond before Vlad was absorbed by Danny's Fenton Thermos in a blinding blue light.

Danny carefully capped the thermos before turning to Sam.

"So, what are we going to do with him?" Danny wondered, holding up the thermos.

"We'll figure something out," Sam said, smiling faintly. "But for now… it's Christmas Eve. Don't you want to be with your family?"

"Sam," Danny said, wrapping his arms around Sam and meeting her gaze. "All I want is you."

And then they kissed, and it was like they'd never fought, and Sam had never been gone. Everything was back to normal.

"But seriously, Danny," Sam said after they broke apart. "You probably should get back home."

"You're right," Danny sighed. He knew he had to let go of Sam at some point. He'd see her again soon; he'd make sure of that. But he didn't want to let her leave him again. He'd missed her so much…

Suddenly, inspiration struck.

"Hey, Sam, your parents are out of town, right?" Danny asked.

"Yeah. They're not going to be back until school starts back up. Why?"

"How about you spend the rest of Winter Break at our house?" Danny asked. "I wouldn't want you to be alone on Christmas. I mean, I know you're Jewish and all, but still, I just thought…"

Sam cut him off with a kiss.

"I'd love to," Sam said. "Now let's go. It's freezing out here."

Chuckling, Danny took his girlfriend's hand and the couple started the short walk back to Fenton Works.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

It was Christmas in Amity Park.

Sam sat under the Fenton's Christmas tree with Jazz and Tucker by her side. Tucker was messing with the brand new PDA he'd gotten, and Jazz had started reading one of the many new books she'd been gifted for the holiday. Sam was content to sit under the tree, taking in the scent of pine needles and cinnamon.

She really loved the holidays, and she was so happy she was able to spend them with her friends.

Maddie and Jack had been glad to see Sam and immediately agreed to have her stay at their house for the rest of the break. Arrangements had been made, and a makeshift bed was set up for Sam on the Fenton's living room couch. It certainly wasn't the most comfortable place to sleep, but somehow she felt more relaxed on the stiff couch here than she'd ever felt in the expensive bed at Vlad's place.

So engrossed in her thoughts, she didn't notice Danny appear at her side.

"Hey, Sam," Danny said, smiling down at her as he took a seat next to her on the carpet.

"Back from the Ghost Zone already?" Sam asked, surprised. "What'd you end up doing with Vlad?"

"I handed him over to Walker," Danny said. "Apparently, he's broken quite a few of Walker's 'rules' in his time."

Sam leaned over to rest her head on Danny's shoulder. Danny wrapped his arm around her, kissing her forehead.

"He's going to be back eventually, you know," Sam said, breaking the contented silence.

"Yeah, I know," Danny said. "But when he does, we'll be ready for him."

"We?" Sam asked.

"Of course," Danny said. "I'm not the only superhero in Amity Park now. We're a team."

Sam smiled into Danny's shoulder. It was good hearing that.

Suddenly, Danny's ghost sense went off. Immediately, all of the teens were standing up, tensed for battle.

"GHOST!" Jack and Maddie Fenton cried from the kitchen, already whipping out their ghost hunting weapons.

"That's our cue," Danny said, turning to Phantom and taking Sam's hand. "Ready?"

"Always," Sam said, grinning.

Danny chuckled.

"Merry Christmas, Sam," Danny said.

"Merry Christmas, Danny."

And so the two ghost-hybrids flew out into Amity Park to meet their destiny.


	8. Author's Note

**Hi there! Emily here. **

This is just going to be one gigantic **Author's Note**, so you don't have to read it. I won't be offended! I have a tendency to rant, so this might get kind of lengthy.

Anyway, **this is it**— the end of the Power Trilogy. It's been totally awesome writing it, but I have to say, I'm glad I can start working on some other stuff now. I have a ton of ideas floating around in my head— I don't even know where to start!

**Huge thanks to everybody who reviewed**— you all are what motivated me to keep writing! I had some _serious_ writer's block when it came to this last one. That's why it took, like, _forever_ for it to come out.

I'm currently on vacation with my family in Naples, Florida. I've pretty much been holed up in the hotel room for the past week writing this. Pathetic, I know. But what can I say? I can't spend too long away from my computer and my writing. I get separation anxiety.

Tomorrow we're headed to Disney World, and unfortunately, the Wi-Fi isn't free there, so I'm not going to be online for the next week or so. **But I will still be writing! **I'm _so_ excited to start some new stories!

Anyway, that's pretty much it. Please review! It makes my day! And again, _huge _thanks to everybody that has review the past two installments of this! **IT'S DONE!**

Happy Holidays,

Emily

(a.k.a **Emmyrad**)


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